Panic as we speak

[Charmbracelet81]

I always talk about my CBT and while I am getting better, I am still coming down from a 10+ panic attack. I am thankful they are getting moe and more further apart, but the same feelings and emotions and all that comes with the attack are just as strong as ever. I was actually very calm and all of a sudden had a thought of, "My lungs aren't working!" yes, I kow how dumb it sounds, but it ran away with me this time. I wanted to call 911 and everything. I thought I was about to die. Usually when I get a panic attack there is something that leads up to it, (and now I can use my techniques to handle and rationalize it) but it literally came out of nowhere!!! No time for anything!!! I called my therapist and she talked me through it. I'm just still all shaken up and everything after a panic attack, tired, ect. Anyone else get these that just snap right away? It's the most out of control I have ever felt. Therapist sais that now that I am starting to be more relaxed the mind doesn't like "unemployment" and it can strike when I am calm, because it wants me to go back to how I used to be...and to be honest, I am scared that that will happen. :cry:

[jusroc]

meditation and other relaxation therapies may help.
CBT is supposed to help in the long term, however, i imagine the effects take time to work and may not cover everything.

If you can do meditation, perhaps it would help you relax to the extent that you no longer require cbt?

Meditation is a long term solution as well (need to daily for years)

[ThePhoenix]

I always talk about my CBT and while I am getting better, I am still coming down from a 10+ panic attack. I am thankful they are getting moe and more further apart, but the same feelings and emotions and all that comes with the attack are just as strong as ever. I was actually very calm and all of a sudden had a thought of, "My lungs aren't working!" yes, I kow how dumb it sounds, but it ran away with me this time. I wanted to call 911 and everything. I thought I was about to die. Usually when I get a panic attack there is something that leads up to it, (and now I can use my techniques to handle and rationalize it) but it literally came out of nowhere!!! No time for anything!!! I called my therapist and she talked me through it. I'm just still all shaken up and everything after a panic attack, tired, ect. Anyone else get these that just snap right away? It's the most out of control I have ever felt. Therapist sais that now that I am starting to be more relaxed the mind doesn't like "unemployment" and it can strike when I am calm, because it wants me to go back to how I used to be...and to be honest, I am scared that that will happen. :cry:

Thats no good! It is pretty common for these things to come out of the blue after you are improving. I can be sitting merrily doing something and then all of a sudden just start feeling edgy and anxious with no trigger at all. Othertimes, I am fine and then a slightly worrying thought creeps into my head that can send me on a downward spiral.

Thankfully the panic side of things rarely hits me now because I recognise it for what it is and therefore take all power away from it. Panic cannot hurt you if you dont fear it, when you feel them coming on just take a couple of deep breaths and tell yourself its only a panic attack and its harmless. It will pass! :D

[mamascrazy1985]

Hi charm braclet sorry to here you are having panic attacks again you were doing so good for so long I actually looked up to you like wishing I could be normal like you again. Remember I said I don't visit the site when I don't have anxiety because it will bring it on well guess what its back. I got heart burn I guess earlier and it caused it to come back. I'm seriously thinkin bout just going to bed and being the party pooper and wake up fresh tomorrow hopefully I won't have the whole "wonder what todays anxietys gonna be like" doesn't pop in my head as soon as I wake up. Anyways hope youre feeling better wish I had a theripist to call. And I might feel so much better if I could just let it all out to someone that understands. :( ttyl

[ThePhoenix]

hopefully I won't have the whole "wonder what todays anxietys gonna be like" doesn't pop in my head as soon as I wake up.

I know its hard but this is a terrible way to think! :) I mean that in the nicest possible way but dont sit around thinking about what anxiety will throw at you next! There is no reason it has to throw anything at you today, or the next day! Your inviting it in!

Try telling yourself IT WONT be back tomorrow, or as soon as you have that thought kick it out of your head and think about something else!

Oh and as for the heartburn, its just a food/stress related thing, no need to be anxious of it!

[Robbed]

it wants me to go back to how I used to be...and to be honest, I am scared that that will happen. :cry:

It feels like this is going to happen. But the funny thing is (at least in my experience), it NEVER does! Now I don't know if your therapist ever told you this. But the fact of the matter is that anxiety recover is NEVER a smooth-sailing, 'every day is better than the last' sort of experience. Setbacks such as the one you are experiencing are not just possible. But you can literally COUNT on them happening. However, as bad as they may be (and they can be REALLY bad), they tend to be short-lived. In fact, for some odd reason, when I experience a setback, I usually find that I actually feel BETTER when it is all over than before it happened.

One more thing. It certainly seems disturbing when this sort of thing happens 'out of the blue' and with no 'provocation'. But I find that traditional TEA form-based CBT can actually work against you in this sort of situation. After all, it teaches you that ANYTHING like this MUST be the result of some sort of negative thoughts. And that this 'thought error' MUST be corrected with a more accurate, positive assertion in order to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. The problem is, you didn't have a negative thought. But adherents to traditonal CBT say that, under these sorts of situations, the thought is 'hidden' (whatever THAT means) and must be found and dealt with. You keep trying to figure out the culprit, and even start to look for negative meaning in innocent thoughts you may have had at the time (thoughts like 'I think I will have a glass of water.'). This overanalysis and mental 'wheel spinning' is counterproductive, and just leads to more stress and anxiety. So in this sort of situation, you must simply accept that 'out of the blue' panic attacks are just the result of your mind in a high-stress state. Accept the attack rather than trying to fight it. And try not to be afraid of future attacks. By simply accepting the weird symptoms of anxiety disorder rather than trying to make them go away, you will help your mind to heal in the long run.

Of course, I'm not saying your TEA forms are bad. Just that there is a time and place for them. But there are also times when it is better to accept than to fight.

[Charmbracelet81]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, one of the 1st things I learned is to accept the anxiety rather than try to avoid it, becuase avoidance only makes things much worse. This attack was just a strange one because I was literally fine, even calm. Maybe that's what my mind doesn't like; that I am starting to chill out. :lol:
Also, I did feel better once it was over. Moved on with my day and everything. I didn't expect that, either. That boosted my confidence because usually if I have an attack before work, my whole day is ruined.